A tale of a happy and healthy kitchen.
 |
Remaining offerings from this weeks' basket
Spaghetti Squash, Watermelon, Canary Melon,
Green Apples, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Plums,
Apricots, & Banana's (I've used most of the plums,
The lettuce, one of the Spaghetti squashes, the onions,
the green onions, celery, snap peas, carrots, and probably
some other little things that my preggo brain has no
recollection of!
|
About a year ago, my Mom told me about Bountiful Baskets and how they could benefit my family. At the time, I couldn't afford them, or told myself I couldn't afford them. If I could go back knowing what I know now, I would slap my old self silly and tell her that she can't NOT afford to get the baskets. It's been 3 weeks, but let me tell you, my budget, my tummy, my kids, and my scale are all happy. <<
>> Anyways, this week, I had a couple things left over from last week's basket that needed to get used, and some things in the current basket. I also had a lb of beef in my fridge that needed to get used or frozen, and i'm trying to avoid the freezer right now (moving soon, trying not to store!). So I started googling and going to recipe blogs. I asked google What's for dinner tonight? and once I found something I could tolerate, it took me to meatloaf. Which sounded good to this pregnant momma (weird, not a huge meatloaf fan...). And then I remembered my mom making meatloaf once upon a time, and hiding things in it that my family would most likely protest at eating. And inspiration, and a couple of recipes that were tweakable finally fell into my lap/bowl. So here it is. The Best Meatloaf I've ever made:
 |
6 1/2 months pregnant with #4. This is my tribute
to healthy eating during pregnancy... I should be
much larger than this, and have been with all the
previous children at this point. |
1 lb ground beef (lean!!)
2 Tbs milk
1 Tbs water
1 small green apple (chopped)
1-2 carrots (chopped/shredded)
1/2 onion (chopped fine)
1/2 cup bread crumbs/seasoned stuffing mix
1 egg
1/2 unpacked brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
squirt of mustard
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
So, take your beef, milk, and water and mix them together- to moisten the beef. Toss in your apple, carrots, onion, and stuffing mix. Put on gloves or not (I totally wrapped my hand in saran wrap bc i hate hate hate touching meat and didn't have sandwich baggies...) and mush the ingredients together (mix well). Add the egg and smoosh some more. Form into a "loaf" and put in your pan (bread pan, metal or glass). Mix up your brown sugar, ketchup, and mustard well, and pour on top of your meat loaf. Bake for an hour. Once done, and once it's cooled for 5-7 minutes, I pull it out of the pan to drain the not so lean part of beef juices. This is also an ideal time to slice it into portion sizes on the serving platter- or in my case, the tupperware dish any leftovers will get stored in.
About half way into the baking, I realized meatloaf wasn't going to fill us up.. what was I going to serve with it??! So I went back to my Bountiful Basket... and saw potatoes! Sweet! Classic! Meatloaf and potatoes for dinner at my house last night! And then I really got creative. See, I still had some green onions left over from the previous basket, and some carrot shreds too.. I'm a great mashed potato/ potato soup maker. THIS IS MY THING- mom has me do it when I'm home for thanksgiving. So here's what I did:
4 small/medium potatoes (scrubbed, quartered and then sliced thin for faster cooking)
 |
I wish I had taken a picture of the meatloaf itself, but I'm not
the best photographer... |
1/2 carrot- shredded (whatever I had left over)
1/4 c butter
2-4 tbs milk
1/2-1 cup chopped green onion
(I also added the remaining stuffing crumbs (2/3 cups) for flavor and bc I originally added too much milk (I am bad about measuring and do a trial by pour method)
Bring some water and a tbsp of salt to a boil, add the potatoes and carrots together. Drain. Add butter and milk, mash with hand smasher thingymabobber. (Or cheat and toss in a blender.. I hand mash to keep the texture lumpy). Add green onion and stir in.
Serve.
I don't have any left overs. Last night it was my two kids (ages 1 and nearly 3), myself, and a portion for my good friend and neighbor V. I was seriously impressed with myself and glad that V encouraged me to write it down for further reference. So here it is. For your use, my use, and V's! And I have nothing but this to show for my efforts. Dirt and empty dishes.
One note I would like to make regarding this meal: There are no seasonings used/added (minus the salt to boil the potatoes). Yes, the stuffing came pre seasoned, but I didn't add anything beyond that... which is rare for me. But I am so glad that I didn't do it (Honestly, I totally forgot because the kids were whiny and clingy and hungry... crying and distracting the cook from her masterpiece!). The natural flavors of the fresh fruit and veggies were amazing. I will be repeating this experience!
In the words of Sariah. Peace Out Ya'll!
Chad came home! He flew out of Afghanistan right after christmas, and then made it home late late on the 30th. It was the best present 2012 could have brought our family. We celebrated Christmas a week late so that he could be home to open present with us. Sariah thinks she is all that and a bag of chips. Ben tries to be the best big brother, giving Marilyn her binki any time she cries. He also has a habit of trying to sit on her in an effort to sit in her chair. We're working on it. Marilyn is growing faster than I can keep up with. She is 3 months old this week, has started to pack on the jelly rolls, and likes to giggle at her dad. 
Chad had a massive cyst removed from his head, and I'll admit, my sick sick self was very glad the doctor took pictures for me. And myself, well today I successfully put on size 8 jeans, zipped them up and still needed a belt. This hasn't happened for over 2 years- since before getting pregnant with Ben. I'm very happy I kept them. NOW, if only I can fit into those 6's, I'll be super happy. It's going to be my goal this year, along with a couple other things for the family that I'm still trying to define. Updates and specifics to come. And yes. I took a picture of my butt.
